Upcoming SNAP Coalition Meetings May 23 and June 1:

The next Boston SNAP Coalition Meeting is Tuesday, May 23rd from 10 to Noon at St Francis House in Boston (39 Boylston Street, 6th Floor). The agenda will include an update on the State Budget (Senate Ways and Means) and State legislative campaigns, federal issues (President's budget), update on HIP roll-out, update on DTA SNAP processing improvements, the start of the specialized elder unit, check in on ongoing issues (excess verification, auto-dialer calling wrong number, ABAWds).Â A more detailed agenda will go out end of week

The next Central MA SNAP Coalition Meeting is Thursday, June 1st from 10 to Noon in Worcester, at Community Legal Aid, 405 Main Street 3rd Floor in Worcester. Contact Liz Sheehan Castro or Gina Plata-Nino if you have agenda item: lsheehancastro@feedingamerica.org and gplatanino@cwjustice.org

SNAP 101 Training in Central MA on June 13th:

Central West Justice Center and Community Legal Aid are offering a SNAP 101 training on June 13th from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm at Loaves and Fishes (Unitarian Universalist Church, 90 Holden Street, Worcester, MA 01606). See attached flyer.

This training presented by benefit attorneys is targeted for area providers who work with SNAP applicants or

We strongly encourage you to download and read the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report on how SNAP, the nation's largest anti-hunger program, helps millions of workers.. As we head into rocky waters on an national level. it is critical that Coalition members; local, state and federal elected officials; and the public understand how important SNAP is to low-wage households. CBPP has produced a terrific, powerful report that describes why SNAP is critical to working families and individuals, including the types of occupations they work in and median hourly wages among workers.

And while we are on the topic of working families, attached is MLRI's chart on SNAP benefits for working families as a quick reference.

Did you know - that even a small amount of SNAP for a family with children means that the school age children in the family automatically receive free school meals?

Did you know - that even families earning $15 an hour still qualify for SNAP benefits if their shelter costs are high (which is true for most families in MA) or have child care expenses?

Did you know - a SNAP household working in low pay or unstable jobs can still qualify for SNAP Employment and Training services to build skills for a better job? See DTA's SNAP Path to Work webpage.

If your program can offer employment and training services, contact DTA and UMass Medical for more information on how to become an SNAP ET provider and qualify for federal reimbursment.

MLRI is also urging DTA to adopt additional policies/options that will simplify counting of income for working families and self-employed households to make it easier to both calculate income and avoid the "cliff effects." We will discuss some of these initiatives at the next SNAP Coalition meeting. Stay tuned!